A crash course in dissatisfaction

Hey there, time traveller!This article was published 3/8/2013 (1223 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba drivers may enjoy some of the lowest auto insurance premiums in the country, but that isn't enough to keep some of them happy, according to a new customer satisfaction survey by J.D. Power & Associates. Many of our readers would seem to agree with that assessment.

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Winnipeg police and responders at the scene of a two vehicle accident at the corner of McPhillips Street and Church Avenue Friday. Purchase Photo Print

MPI always claims that auto insurance in MB is among the lowest in Canada. However, there is an insurance component in your drivers licence so that "low" rate you pay is not the true cost. For example, the cost of a drivers licence in British Columbia is $75 for FIVE years, while in Manitoba; the cost is $65 PER YEAR and your licence cost escalates dramatically if you should have an accident. So, the low auto insurance mantra is just not true.

-- LTK

Just b/c you have low rates does not happy people make. Look at your average Wally World shopper. You would think they would be singing as they left the store.

-- beekpr1

I like MPI's reasonable rates and fair, efficient claims process. I've never had a problem with them and I can't say that I'd really care to change the system we have just to satisfy some insurance industry overlords from Toronto.

-- lollipopsandsunshine

Low rates but poor customer satisfaction? Is it possible that among the competent people working at MPI, there is an uncomfortably high percentage of incompetent boobs who may have met the standards of training demanded but they would never hold down a job in the private insurance market because they're... well... incompetent... just saying.

-- Red Squirrel

Government simply does not belong in a competitive situation with private enterprise. Costs ARE affected negatively and the taxpayer is on the hook. Were costs looked at in these surveys? Bricks and mortar are owned by the government, employees are forced to belong to unions which have unrealistically high salaries and benefits packages.

In private industry there is motivation to be competitive - in a monopolistic setting that does not exist.

Sorry, but no support here for MPI.

-- WorkingAnt

I had a nightmare experience two weeks ago when trying to renew a recently expired out-of-province license, I was told I needed to be retested! I took the written, failed it :-(, then went to re-write and asked to see the policy that states an out-of-province expired license requires retesting, and they couldn't produce such documentation, and I got my license back. That was 8 days of hell. Never for one hot second should you trust any information given from MPI. Question it, and then question it again, and after you have questioned it a third time, just know - they have no idea what they are doing.

-- Bandcamper

Low premiums low coverage. Talk to someone who has had a family member killed by a drunk or reckless driver. The "no fault" provision leaves the bereaved family hopelessly at the mercy of a system where they are frequently not compensated for their loss. Sure MPIC is not a life insurance co. but someone they insured ??? at a low cost gets away with murder. Does not seem all that fair but it keeps their premiums down.

-- LWoodie

The lowest rates? What if you compare the rates charged people with a claims free record to those in other jurisdictions? Public insurance is good for new and/or lousy drivers. Not so good for people with good driving records.

-- JustWondering

If you have ever had a serious injury and had to deal with MPI you would rate them a zero. They spend every waking moment trying to find ways to make your life a new kind of he77. They are mandated to help as little as they can and pay as little as they can and your life and body are worth nothing to them.and there is no way you can win because their word is law.

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